Ambassador Bern

We let the girls sleep in and then broke the news that we were going to have a quiet day in the hostel because it was raining and that they had to do a few hours of homework. Looking at the screen in the hostel, you could see that it was snowing heavily on the mountains.

By afternoon, the rain had turned to drizzle, so we ...

... cobblestone roads and alot of trams for such a small place. Like Luxembourg there are alot of hills and cliffs so my legs were a little sore. They also have clocks everywhere, typical Switzerland. Its also not as expensive as I thought, it must have been just Zurich, or perhaps unlike then, I'm used to expensive food now.
At night, myself and my three other roommates- one was from America, Britain, and Korea went out for a walk and came ...

... was burning and all I had was one evening before setting off to Paris.

On the way to the hostel, I was stopped by a girl who could tell I was a bit unsure of where I was going. She asked if I was going to the hostel and then gave me directions. She also suggested I set my stuff down at the hostel and get over to the river, where the entire town was swimming after the workday (it was only 4 pm ...

... am only here for 2 weeks, so splurge. The hostel is absolutely heaven after Three Ducks in Paris-it is the way a hostel should be, but just a tad sterile. Oh well. It is truely WiFi, high-speed, free, always up. So, I can stay online forever.

I will add to this later after I have toured around the city more. I am investigating all the Swiss Train options, alot of choices depending upon your situation. (time of stay more than anything else.)

We arrived in Bern in the early evening and caught another above-ground trolly to our host's flat. There was time for toasting our host's new job and not much else before we turned in for the night. The next day, the rain had finally stopped, but a cold fog had rolled in. Our gracious hosts showed us around the old town while the clouds reluctantly lifted to allow in some warming sunlight--but not a view of the Alps, unfortunately ...

... enclosures where bears are kept purely for tourist viewing. I stood next to a German couple who were speaking to the bear and getting him to clap his front paws together to earn a treat. He did this so many times and they fed him a whole handful of fruit throughout the process. Part of you sees the enclosure and thinks what an inhumane way to keep such a majestic animal locked up, but then part of me was so enamoured by the intelligent behaviour of the bear. They are ...

Morning found us tromping up the Jura mountains with our friends, great views of Lake Geneva we could even see the Jet d'Eau fountain clearly (well it is 140m high with 500 litres of water forced out of the nozzle every second at about 200kph). Very nice place. Then that afternoon us and the just Daddy of the caln headed off to Bern for the night. Not unlike Copenhagen only no was over 25 at night - except ...

... simulators was dwindling a little bit...jk...it was fun and he was really happy because it was all about technology. (and I made him promise to go dancing with me in exchange for the six hour transportation field trip...haha). We also got to see an IMAX show on Vikings which was actually really cool and interesting. There was a planetarium too... After the museum we walked along the city for a while, but everything was closed since it was Sunday....took a free boat tour of the ...

... at the highest point that seems to be remote controlled. The other story is that there is a lift in the mountain for the soldiers to come up and down. Interesting... The ride up here was incredible. It was a long trip up in the cable cars and a scary one too. A very long drop if it failed. Nothing like the gondolas in NZ. Off into town the next day. Checked out the lion carved into the rock, which was surrounded by a pig carved into the rock. It was created in honor ...

... let's get going, we've only got 2 months before I leave... is anyone listening?" Well, "no" they weren't listening and I wasn't looking at the big picture: They are here ALL year long, year after year, and August is the only time they have the opportunity to take a vacation, so I let them go -- well, they weren't exactly waiting for my approval. Hala & Nashaat didn't GO on vacation. No, they welcomed a new baby boy into the world and have been using August as a time to ...